HONOLULU — At a news conference last week, the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority launched its “official mark of excellence for Hawaii-based and operating businesses” known as Qurator.
Described as the broadest visitor industry certification of its kind, Qurator will be used to guide visitors to Hawaii products and experiences that incorporate responsible tourism practices while adding value and recognizing those businesses for their positive contributions to the environment, community and economy, according to an HTA news release.
“Qurator isn’t just a stamp of approval,” said HTA Board Chair Mufi Hannemann in the release. “It speaks to a set of brand values for the Hawaiian Islands, that we care deeply about our land, our people, our culture, and our guests. It’s a recognition of the interdependent relationship between businesses, visitors and our broader local community.”
Qurator certification is based on six categories of criteria: environment, cultural support, equity, safety, community and guest experience.
So far, 13 businesses have been certified in a pilot program that launched in May — Alaska Airlines, Bishop Museum, Four Seasons Resort Lāna‘i, Hāna and Beyond, Hawaii Forest & Trail, HI Honey Farm, Hawaiian Airlines, Holo Holo Charters, Keoki’s Paradise, Maui Chocolate Tour, Southwest Airlines, Stargazers of Hawaiʻi and Trilogy Excursions.
“As Maui’s oldest family-owned sailboat company, Trilogy has strived to be a leader in the marine hospitality industry for decades,” said Riley Coon, director of sustainable tourism with Trilogy Excursions. “We mālama and embrace our kuleana for the marine environment, educating our guests and staff about Hawaii and how to minimize our impact. Driven by our core belief — 'o ka pono o nā kai' (to better the condition of our oceans) — we are thrilled that HTA highlights our industry’s positive impacts through the Qurator program.”
Businesses of any size, situation and type can apply, including airlines, cruise lines, hotels, food services, tours, transportation, attractions, retail and others. They can also select which categories to participate and be recognized in without having to compete with larger competitors.
Self-evaluations can be completed at its own pace, after which they will be handed to an independent third party for scoring and auditing for truthfulness and accuracy.
Qurator will also award several tiers of overall certification for superior performance across all six categories. “Qurator Certified” is the base level with top performers becoming “Qurator Honored” and “Qurator Elite” for the highest scoring businesses.
“Qurator exemplifies HTA’s commitment to championing businesses and organizations that enrich our community as a whole,” said Daniel Nāho‘opi‘i, HTA’s interim president and CEO. “Many travelers want to make responsible choices, and with Qurator, visitors can easily identify businesses that align with their values and contribute to a more sustainable, regenerative Hawaii.”
Kilohana is the tourism division of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement that worked with HTA to create Qurator. The program’s broad nature resulted in the development of a set of standards that are unprecedented in scope compared to other tourism-related certifications, according to the release.
“The global standards stop at tours and accommodations,” said Jon Peahl, quality assurance manager with Kilohana who previously worked on quality guidelines for health and safety, animal welfare, and human rights globally. “We had to create something which hadn’t previously existed — standards to cover everyone from cruise lines to surf schools.”
Designed as a community-first program encompassing more topics than any other program of its kind, Qurator received input from over 100 outside groups before the criteria were written.
According to HTA, it’s the broadest-encompassing visitor industry mark of quality in the world under several metrics:
Qurator isn’t limited to any one vertical market segment. All businesses in the visitor industry can participate in the program as long as they are physically in Hawaii, fully licensed and in good legal standing.
Going beyond most travel certification programs, Qurator recognizes businesses taking responsible actions to help mitigate a wide range of problems that include traditional issues such as environment and cultural preservation, but also diving into issues such as wage inequality, human trafficking, communicable disease and noise and light pollution.
Businesses do not need to participate in all categories and can be recognized for contributing in whatever way they are able, whether it’s providing good jobs, protecting wildlife or nurturing Hawaii’s culture. In this way, Qurator broadens the playing field to that small, local businesses can be equally celebrated.
Learn more about the program and apply for certification on the Qurator website.
Sarah Yamanaka covers news and events for Spectrum News Hawaii. She can be reached at sarah.yamanaka@charter.com.